


Just Ask

by bluemoonblues



Series: If You Need Me [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: (i just go into the details of a case they’re working a bit), Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Gore, Non-Sexual Age Play, Nyctophobia, Thumb-sucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21795458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoonblues/pseuds/bluemoonblues
Summary: Tony knew that Gibbs said it was okay, but how was he supposed to know if Gibbs really meant it? Adults lied all the time; Tony knew from experience.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & Jethro Gibbs
Series: If You Need Me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564711
Comments: 8
Kudos: 125





	Just Ask

**Author's Note:**

> Woohoo! Finals are over! That means I’ve got a whole month off now that I can spend writing! Feel free to drop any ideas for this series in the comments and I will definitely put them into consideration when I plan more. :) I’ve already got about ten more stories planned so far!

DiNozzo had worried that work would be awkward now that Gibbs had found out about Tony’s less-than-common coping mechanism, but Gibbs hadn’t begun to treat him any differently. In fact, he had made no mention of what he had walked into that night since it happened. 

At first, Tony was thankful. He certainly didn’t want Gibbs to treat him any differently or to go easy on him just because he sometimes felt like a little kid on the off-hours. At work, he was still the same adult that Gibbs had always known and trusted to have his six.

But… Gibbs also might not have mentioned it because he was disturbed by what he saw. Sure, he’d  _ said  _ it was okay, but how was Tony supposed to know if he really didn’t mind?

Gibbs certainly couldn’t have meant it when he said Tony could go to him if he needed, could he? If he’d truly meant it, he wouldn’t be acting like it had never happened. Gibbs probably had only said that he didn’t mind Tony coming to him to make Tony feel better about the whole situation.

No matter if he meant it or not, Tony certainly wouldn’t be taking him up on the offer. He knew that no matter what Gibbs said, Tony would be nothing more than a burden. But still, he wished he knew how Gibbs really felt about what he’d walked into so he could start searching for another job if he needed to.

For days, DiNozzo found himself worrying over what Gibbs really thought about what he did after hours. If he truly didn’t mind or if he was trying to think up an excuse to get DiNozzo off his team. He found it difficult to focus on much else, in fact.

Then, they got a kidnapping case and DiNozzo had to put his personal worries on the back burner. A Petty Officer had been missing for a day, last seen in her home by her husband the previous night. She’d been taken from her bed as he slept next to her. Virtually no evidence had been left behind to hint at who her kidnapper was or where they had taken her.

Gibbs was not happy with their lack of progress. DiNozzo had never seen the man consume so much coffee before, and that said a  _ lot _ .

“Damn it, people! This woman went missing out of her own home with her husband in bed right next to her and none of you can find me a  _ single  _ lead?” Gibbs barked, pacing Abby’s lab.

Abby flinched slightly, a frown set on her face. Tony didn’t blame her — Gibbs yelled a lot, but usually, his yelling was never directed at her.

“I’m sorry, Gibbs, but it’s like we’re dealing with a ghost. There’s no DNA present that isn’t the victim’s or her husband’s,” Abby said, eyes wide. “Of course, I’ll keep running tests for DNA, but—“

“Yeah, you  _ will _ ,” Gibbs growled. “And I don’t want to hear from you again until you  _ find something _ .”

Abby flinched like Gibbs had smacked her, mouth falling open. DiNozzo patted her arm in sympathy before he followed Gibbs out of the lab. When Gibbs was like this, there wasn’t much to be said that would offer comfort. The only thing they could do was solve the case as quickly as possible to put an end to the man’s frustration and their own subsequent misery.

“DiNozzo! Let’s go!”

“Coming, Boss,” DiNozzo replied, running to catch up to Gibbs waiting in the elevator.

“I want to talk to the husband again, be sure that he doesn’t know more than he’s letting on,” Gibbs growled, eyes hard. He was in such a surly mood that DiNozzo couldn’t even bring himself to make eye contact with the man, worried that if he did Gibbs would turn him to stone. It was putting DiNozzo a little on edge; even though he was used to moody Gibbs, he still didn’t enjoy dealing with him.

The elevator doors opened on the bullpen and DiNozzo and Gibbs stepped out. Gibbs walked to his desk and grabbed his go-bag and DiNozzo did the same.

“What do you think you’re doing, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked.

“Uh… grabbing my go-bag so we can interview the husband again?” DiNozzo answered, suspecting that it was not the one that Gibbs wanted.

“ _ I’m _ interviewing the husband!  _ You  _ are staying here and finding me a lead!” Gibbs hollered, holstering his gun and hoisting his bag over his shoulder before marching out of the bullpen.

“On it, Boss,” DiNozzo mumbled to himself, sighing as he tossed his go-bag back on the ground. He pulled up all of the photos they’d taken of the crime scene and scanned them with a fine-toothed comb, looking for anything that might tip them off to where the Petty Officer was.

As he worked, he traced his thumb around his lips. More than anything, Tony wanted to be done with this case so that he could go home and relax with his blanket and a movie on the television. Maybe he’d even color; he hadn’t been brave enough yet to buy himself anything for when he got little, but it wouldn’t be  _ too  _ embarrassing to buy a coloring book and some crayons from the store. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Coloring would be lots of fun!

Shaking his head, DiNozzo shoved  _ that  _ thought away. He was at work; he needed to focus. He needed to be an  _ adult _ .

Nothing stood out in any of the photos and DiNozzo sighed, moving on to look at the notes of all the interviews he’d conducted with people who knew the Petty Officer. Nothing stood out to him there, either; her husband stated that they had a good marriage and seemed to be telling the truth, and everyone she worked with sang high praise. No one seemed to have any sort of motive.

The thought had crossed his mind that the Petty Officer had staged her kidnapping, but she didn’t seem to have a reason to do that, either. She had no arrest record and hadn’t been written up for anything during her time in service. She didn’t work on any top-secret projects, and neither was her husband involved in anything of the sort.

The woman’s life seemed to be perfectly ordinary. Nothing hinted at her being a valuable kidnapping victim.

DiNozzo had no idea why anyone would kidnap this woman, unless it had nothing to do with her life as it was in the present. Perhaps she’d covered up something from her past? Something that was more difficult to dredge up than simply looking for an arrest record?

He was researching that theory when Gibbs returned, mood unimproved. DiNozzo inferred that the interview hadn’t shed any new light on the case.

“Where are we at, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, sitting down at his desk and putting his gun away.

“I’m thinking that the kidnapping might have something to do with her past rather than her present, ‘cause from what we’ve been told, this woman lives a cookie cutter life,” DiNozzo replied. 

“Do you have any evidence to back this theory up? An actual  _ lead? _ ” Gibbs growled.

DiNozzo hesitated. “Well, no, Boss, not yet. But I’m looking!”

“Find me something, DiNozzo! We don't go home until this woman is found!” Gibbs yelled, slamming his fist on his desk. Tony jumped. He hated when Gibbs was like this, his anxiety going through the roof every time Gibbs raised his voice.

DiNozzo turned back to his computer and got back to work, twice as thorough as he combed through all the details of this woman’s life. Running a full background check, he finally found something.

“Boss, I’ve got something!” DiNozzo said, straightening in his chair. “When she was in high school, she got a restraining order against a man named Trevor Burwell. He was sent to prison for assault not long after and he just got out.”

Gibbs stood up and grabbed his gun and his go-bag and headed for the elevator. DiNozzo watched him, unsure whether or not he was supposed to be following. Gibbs turned back around and raised his eyebrows.

“DiNozzo! Let’s go!”

“Right,” DiNozzo said, hopping up and grabbing his things, jogging to catch up.

They made it to Trevor Burwell’s apartment only to find the door ajar. They went inside, guns drawn, and found no one inside, but a decent amount of blood in the living room.

“That enough blood to mean we’re looking for a body now?” Tony asked.

Gibbs stared at the mess, jaw clenched. “Only Ducky can answer that, but that’s what it looks like.”

Ducky confirmed that they were certainly looking for a body, but Abby surprised them with which body it was.

“There were two sets of DNA and two separate blood types found at the scene,” she explained, showing the DNA results on the big screen in her lab. “One set of DNA belonged to Trevor Burwell. The other, Petty Officer Reese. According to Burwell’s medical record, the majority of it is his. Most likely, our Petty Officer is still alive, but Burwell is definitely not.”

“Nice work, Abs,” Gibbs said. He patted her back as he left and she preened under his touch. DiNozzo bit back the urge to be jealous.

Gibbs and DiNozzo returned to their desks, looking into the history of Trevor Burwell. Apparently, the man had stalked the Petty Officer after she refused his advances, eventually threatening to kill her family if she didn’t agree to date him. He certainly seemed to be a prime suspect for the kidnapping.

Now, if Burwell had kidnapped Petty Officer Reese and was dead, where was Petty Officer Reese? 

Tony stuck a pen in his mouth as he worked, sucking on the cap with furrowed eyebrows. Every direction he looked led to a dead end. Burwell’s car wasn’t missing, he owned no other property other than his rented apartment, and he had no other family members. Making things more confusing, his body was nowhere to be found.

Something fell onto his desk and DiNozzo jumped, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up at Gibbs, standing over his desk and holding a sub. He looked at the sub on his own desk and his mouth began to water. DiNozzo hadn’t realized how hungry he was; it was nearing nine o’clock at night and he hadn’t eaten since noon.

“Eat,” Gibbs ordered, sitting down at his own desk.

Tony didn’t have to be told twice. He quickly unfolded the sub and pulled the pen out of his mouth, tossing it on his desk as he picked up his sub and took a large bite.

“Mmph, thanks, Boss,” Tony said, mouth full of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Gibbs reprimanded. Tony took another large bite of his sub but said nothing else. If he had to choose between talking and food, he’d pick food.

Five minutes later, Tony had already finished his entire sub. Gibbs was still working on his when Abby came running into the bullpen.

“Gibbs! Gibbs! I know where Petty Officer Reese might be! Or at least, where she’s been!”

She skidded to a halt in front of Gibbs’ desk, grinning from ear to ear. Gibbs gestured at her to continue. “We found dirt in Burwell’s apartment, so I broke down its composition and traced it to the only area it could possibly be from! It’s in the middle of nowhere, but it’s only about thirty minutes from here!”

“You’re sure the dirt is from Reese?” Gibbs asked, wrapping up his sub.

“Certain,” Abby nodded vigorously. “The shoe imprint in the carpet where we pulled the dirt from was a women’s size 7. Unless Burwell had really tiny feet, it’s hers.”

“DiNozzo, let’s go,” Gibbs ordered, standing and holstering his gun. “Send Tony the coordinates on his… thingamajig, Abby.”

“Sure thing, Gibbs!” Abby smiled.

DiNozzo followed Gibbs to his car, and soon, they were driving right on top of the coordinates Abby had sent. Unfortunately, that location was in the middle of the woods. They got out of the car and searched the area on foot, Tony slightly anxious about how dark it was. He could hardly see a few feet in front of him; if something was in the woods, he wouldn’t even know about it until it was right in front of him. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

Ten minutes later, they found a small cabin with its lights on. Gibbs motioned for Tony to stand behind him as he kicked the door in, both of them with guns drawn. Petty Officer Reese was inside, hands in the air and eyes wide as they approached her.

“I’m sorry! I-I didn’t want to kill him!” she cried. “He threatened to kill my husband a-and I didn’t know what to do!”

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs sighed. “Cuff her.”

DiNozzo did as told and read Reese her rights. Gibbs called in what happened and a team was sent out to process the cabin. 

While they waited for everyone else to show, Petty Officer Reese admitted that Burwell’s body was buried behind the cabin. She told them that, days after being released from prison, Burwell had begun stalking her again. He’d taken pictures of her and her husband together in bed and scratched out her husband’s face in each of the pictures before placing them in her mailbox.

Terrified, Reese had no idea what to do. She was preparing to ask for help when Burwell called her and promised that he was going to murder her husband so that they could be together.

“I didn’t want to risk my husband’s life if the courts took too long. Last time, it took months just to get a restraining order,” Reese said, eyes filled with tears. “When he went to prison, I thought I’d escaped him. I should’ve known better… There was no way I could be safe until he was dead.”

Gibbs kept Petty Officer Reese company while Tony walked a few feet away until he couldn’t hear the words being exchanged anymore, unaware of Gibbs’ eyes on him. He was physically and emotionally exhausted and was ready to push this case out of his mind. The last thing he wanted to hear was the details of how Petty Officer Reese had committed murder.

They were relieved at midnight and Reese was taken in custody. She’d already confessed to the murder, so thankfully, Gibbs and DiNozzo didn’t have to question her.

Gibbs drove them, Tony resting his head against the window and trying his best not to fall asleep. At first, he kept his eyes open and scanned the woods as the older man drove, but he started imagining scary things in the dark and quickly closed his eyes so he’d stop. Instead, he focused on the hum of the car and its soothing motion. For some reason, Gibbs wasn’t speeding; in fact, he was driving quite gently. Tony didn’t know why, but he was grateful.

“Tony,” Gibbs said quietly, gently tapping his arm.

“Mm?” Tony mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. Despite his best efforts, he’d drifted off. “We there already?”

“No,” Gibbs replied. “I was wondering… Did you want to come back to my house tonight instead?”

Tony looked at him, eyes wide. “Your house?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“You mean…”

“Yeah,” Gibbs replied, nodding. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t mind. And right now, you look like you need it, kid.”

“Okay,” Tony whispered. He couldn’t believe that Gibbs had really meant it when he said he’d watch Tony! Tony didn’t have to go home alone tonight!

Gibbs drove back to his house and Tony rested his head against the window but didn’t close his eyes, too excited that he didn’t have to spend the night alone while he felt little. Most of the time it was okay, but sometimes it got scary.

They pulled into Gibbs’ driveway soon after and went inside. Gibbs went up the stairs and Tony followed him, itching to put his thumb in his mouth but stopping himself.

But… Gibbs didn’t care. He’d said so himself. If Tony wanted to suck his thumb, Gibbs wouldn’t stop him.

Tony stuck his thumb in his mouth. He only wished he had his blanket with him, missing the feeling of the soft silk lining rubbing against his lip.

“Let’s get you something to wear to bed,” Gibbs said, walking into his bedroom and grabbing Tony a pair of pajamas to sleep in. Instead of handing them to Tony, he took them to the guest bedroom and set them out on the bed.

Tony followed, frowning around his thumb. Last time he’d spent the night, Gibbs hadn’t done  _ that _ .

“Do you want help?” Gibbs asked, gesturing at the clothes. 

Tony shook his head, blushing. Privately, he thought that help would be nice, but he didn’t wanna push his luck.

“Okay. I’ll stay in the room just in case, but I’ll turn around while you get changed so you can have some privacy,” Gibbs replied, doing as he said he would.

Tony pulled his thumb out of his mouth so that he could undress, and once he’d done so, he put on the pajamas Gibbs had laid out for him.

“‘M done,” he mumbled when he’d finished, fighting to keep his eyes open. Gibbs turned back around and Tony let out a yawn, eyes nearly drooping shut. He hadn’t been this sleepy in a long time.

“Looks like we need to get you in bed,” Gibbs remarked, mouth twisting up a bit.

Tony nodded in agreement, climbing into bed as he rubbed at his eyes. Gibbs stood at the doorway, waiting until Tony was in bed before turning off the light.

It was suddenly very, very dark and Tony really,  _ really  _ didn’t like it.

“Wait!” he exclaimed, pulling the comforter up to his chin. All he could think of were the scary things he’d imagined in the woods waiting in the corners of the room to get him.

Gibbs immediately flicked the light back on and Tony relaxed a little, letting out a sigh of relief. Gibbs’ house was really dark at night, much darker than Tony’s apartment. Hardly any light came in from the window and when the lights were off it was almost pitch black.

“What’s wrong?” Gibbs asked, frowning.

Tony blushed, embarrassed. He wanted to be brave and tough it out, but what if something bad or scary happened and he couldn’t see? He remembered the last time he’d spent the night at Gibbs’ house and tried to tough out his fear. He’d woken up in wet pajamas after having a nightmare, and he hadn’t even been little then!

“Tony,” Gibbs sighed, walking back into the room. “Can you tell me what’s wrong so I can see if there’s any way I can help? I promise I won’t be upset.”

Tony found that hard to believe. His daddy had always been so mad whenever Tony had come to him because he was scared. Sometimes, he’d even been punished for it. He really didn’t wanna be locked in the dark room tonight. His day had been hard enough!

“Tony,” Gibbs said, voice gentle. “Can you please tell me what’s wrong, kiddo? I’m not going to get mad at you, I promise.”

Tony hesitated, but… Gibbs sounded like he was telling the truth. Maybe Tony could trust him.

“The dark,” he mumbled. “‘S scary.”

“Why didn’t you just say, kid?” Gibbs asked. “That’s an easy fix. I’ll be right back.”

Gibbs left the room for a minute and came back with something in his hand. Going to the wall outlet, he plugged in a nightlight and flicked the switch to turn it on. Then, he turned off the overhead light again. This time, low light emitted from the nightlight, lighting up every corner of the room so that there was nowhere dark enough for anything scary to hide.

Tony relaxed, his grip on the comforter loosening. 

“Thank you,” Tony said, sticking his thumb back in his mouth. Now that he knew nothing could get him, he was back to being really tired.

“You’re welcome. Wake me up if you need anything, okay?”

“‘Kay,” Tony replied, eyes slipping shut.

“Good night, Tony.”

“‘Night, Papa,” Tony replied, already asleep before he could realize what he’d said.

* * *

DiNozzo awoke the next morning to the smell of cooking bacon. He looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where he was since this was  _ surely  _ not his apartment, before the memory of last night came back to him.

He was at Gibbs’. Gibbs had offered to take Tony back to his place, and he’d accepted. Gibbs had gotten Tony a nightlight because he was scared of the dark, and now he was, apparently, downstairs making breakfast.

DiNozzo got out of bed and went downstairs, skirting the line between feeling big and little. He knew that he should stay big, but for some reason, he was having a hard time.

“Hey, kiddo. Sleep okay?” Gibbs said as Tony entered the kitchen, and that was enough to settle Tony into feeling nothing but little.

Tony nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.

“Hope you like bacon and pancakes,” Gibbs said. He then flipped a huge, fluffy pancake and Tony felt his stomach growl.

“I love bacon ‘n pancakes!” Tony exclaimed, excited. The fact that Gibbs was making this breakfast just for him was making his head spin. Not to mention that pancakes were his favorite breakfast food!

“How about eggs?” Gibbs asked.

“Those are good too, but only scrambled,” Tony said, wrinkling his nose. “Yolks are nasty.”

“Alright, then. I’ll make your eggs scrambled.”

Tony sat at the table while Gibbs finished cooking, tracing his finger over the wood grain. He couldn’t understand  _ why  _ Gibbs would want to take care of him like this, but now it certainly seemed like he did. Tony didn’t think that Gibbs would’ve offered to take him back to his house last night if he hadn’t meant it. Then again, sometimes adults said things were okay then got mad anyways. Tony was all too familiar with that.

Gibbs came over with two plates loaded with food. He set one in front of Tony and one across from him, then he grabbed silverware for each of them and a bottle of syrup and set them on the table.

“You want water, orange juice, or milk?” Gibbs asked, grabbing a cup and a mug from the cabinet.

“Orange juice?”

“Sure thing.”

Gibbs filled Tony’s cup and set it in front of him, then poured himself a mug of coffee before sitting down. He began to eat and Tony did the same, picking up a strip of bacon and digging in.

He finished his bacon and eggs quickly, then stopped as he got to his pancakes, biting his lip. He wanted to eat them, but they needed to be cut up and Tony didn’t know if he could do it. He was definitely not going to ask Gibbs for help. He’d already pushed his luck just by spending the night!

Gibbs cleared his throat and Tony looked up, realizing that Gibbs had been watching him. “Pass me your plate, kid.”

Tony’s cheeks heated up in embarrassment, but he pushed his plate across the table. Gibbs cut up his pancakes and grabbed the syrup, drizzling it over them. He then pushed the plate back across the table and Tony picked up his fork, spearing a piece of syrupy pancake and putting it in his mouth.

“Tony, can we talk for a minute?” Gibbs sighed.

Tony’s heart jumped in his chest, a lump building in his throat. This was the part where Gibbs said Tony needed to leave because this was too much for him. Tony felt his eyes begin to sting.

He nodded anyway, setting down his fork and staring at his plate. He was afraid if he met Gibbs’ eyes, he’d start crying and upset the man even more.

“I need you to understand that I don’t mind you needing help, Tony,” Gibbs said. “I’m not gonna get mad at you for it.”

Tony frowned, looking up at the man in confusion. That certainly hadn’t been what Tony was expecting. Especially because adults  _ always  _ got mad when he needed help.

“I offered to help, and I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t meant it. So if you need help cutting up your pancakes, or if you need to come over to my place after a hard case, all you have to do is ask. Got it?”

Tony looked at Gibbs skeptically. “You really don’t mind?”

“I really don’t mind,” Gibbs confirmed, eyes earnest.

Tony smiled slightly, looking down at his pancakes. Gibbs seemed like he was telling the truth, so maybe Tony could believe him. Maybe he could ask Gibbs for help when he needed it.

Maybe he could let Gibbs take care of him, as long as Gibbs was okay with it.


End file.
